Pierce Brendan Brosnan (born May 16, 1953) is an Irish-American[3] actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving comprehensive school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration. He then went on to train at the Drama Centre in London for three years. Following a stage acting career he rose to popularity in the television series Remington Steele (1982–87), which blended the genres of romantic comedy, drama, and detective procedural.

In 1996, along with Beau St. Clair, Brosnan formed Irish DreamTime, a Los Angeles-based production company. In later years, he has become known for his charitable work and environmental activism. He was married to Australian actress Cassandra Harris from 1980 until her death in 1991. He married American journalist and author Keely Shaye Smith in 2001, and he became an American citizen in 2004.

Contents

Brosnan was born in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, County Louth,[1] Ireland, to Thomas Brosnan, a carpenter, and May (née Smith, born circa 1934), and was their only child. He lived in Navan, County Meath for 12 years and considers it his hometown.[4] Brosnan's father abandoned the family when Pierce was an infant. When he was four years old, his mother moved to London to work as a nurse. From that point on, he was largely brought up by his grandparents, Philip and Kathleen Smith. After their deaths, he lived with an aunt and then an uncle, but was subsequently sent to live in a boarding house run by a woman named Eileen. He was educated at Elliott School, a state comprehensive school in south west London.[5]

According to Brosnan,

Childhood was fairly solitary. I grew up in a very small town called Navan in County Meath. I never knew my father. He left when I was an infant and I was left in the care of my mother and my grandparents. To be Catholic in the '50s, and to be Irish Catholic in the '50s, and have a marriage which was not there, a father who was not there, consequently, the mother, the wife suffered greatly. My mother was very courageous. She took the bold steps to go away and be a nurse in England. Basically wanting a better life for her and myself. My mother came home once a year, twice a year.[5]

Brosnan left Ireland on 12 August 1964 and was reunited with his mother and her new husband, William Carmichael, now living in the Scottish village of Longniddry, East Lothian.[9][10] Carmichael took Brosnan to see a James Bond film for the first time (Goldfinger), at the age of 11.[11] Later moving back to London, Brosnan was educated at Elliott School, a state comprehensive school in Putney, south west London.[12] Brosnan has spoken about the transition from Ireland to England and his education in London; "When you go to a very large city, a metropolis like London, as an Irish boy of 10, life suddenly moves pretty fast. From a little school of, say, seven classrooms in Ireland, to this very large comprehensive school, with over 2,000 children. And you're Irish. And they make you feel it; the British have a wonderful way of doing that, and I had a certain deep sense of being an outsider."[5] When he attended school, his nickname was "Irish".[13]

After leaving school at 16, he decided to be a painter and began training in commercial illustration at Saint Martin's School of Art.[14][15] While attending a rehearsal for a workshop at the Oval House, a fire eater was teaching people how to eat fire and he decided to join.[16] A circus agent saw him busking and hired him for three years.[citation needed] He later trained for three years as an actor at the Drama Centre London.[17] Brosnan has described the feeling of becoming an actor and the impact it had on his life: "When I found acting, or when acting found me, it was a liberation. It was a stepping stone into another life, away from a life that I had, and acting was something I was good at, something which was appreciated. That was a great satisfaction in my life."[5]

In 1987, NBC cancelled Remington Steele and Brosnan was offered the role as James Bond, but the publicity revived Remington Steele. His contract with the Remington Steele producers required him to resume his role and he regretfully declined the Bond role.[23] The producers instead hired Timothy Dalton for The Living Daylights (1987), and Licence to Kill (1989).[26] Legal squabbles between the Bond producers and the studio over distribution rights resulted in the cancellation of a proposed third Dalton film in 1991[27] and put the Bond series on a hiatus for several years. After the legal issues had been resolved, Dalton decided not to return for a third film. On 7 June 1994, Brosnan was announced as the fifth actor to play Bond.[23]

Brosnan was signed for a three-film Bond deal with the option of a fourth. The first, 1995's GoldenEye, grossed US $350 million worldwide,[28] the fourth highest worldwide gross of any film in 1995,[29] making it the most successful Bond film since Moonraker, adjusted for inflation.[30] It holds an 80% Rotten tomato rating,[31] while Metacritic holds it at 65%.[32] In the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert gave the film 3 stars out of 4, saying that Brosnan's Bond was "somehow more sensitive, more vulnerable, more psychologically complete" than the previous ones, also commenting on Bond's "loss of innocence" since previous films.[33]James Berardinelli described Brosnan as "a decided improvement over his immediate predecessor" with a "flair for wit to go along with his natural charm", but added that "fully one-quarter of Goldeneye is momentum-killing padding."[34]

In 1996, Brosnan formed a film production company entitled "Irish DreamTime" along with producing partner and long time friend Beau St. Clair.[1] Three years later the company's first studio project, The Thomas Crown Affair, was released and met both critical and box office success.[35]

Brosnan returned in 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies and 1999's The World Is Not Enough, which were also successful. In 2002, Brosnan appeared for his fourth time as Bond in Die Another Day, receiving mixed reviews but was a success at the box office. Brosnan himself subsequently criticised many aspects of his fourth Bond movie. During the promotion, he mentioned that he would like to continue his role as James Bond: "I'd like to do another, sure. Connery did six. Six would be a number, then never come back."[36] Brosnan asked Eon Productions, when accepting the role, to be allowed to work on other projects between Bond films. The request was granted, and for every Bond film, Brosnan appeared in at least two other mainstream films, including several he produced,[13] playing a wide range of roles, ranging from a scientist in Tim Burton's Mars Attacks!, to the title role in Grey Owl which documents the life of Englishman Archibald Stansfeld Belaney, one of Canada's first conservationists.

Shortly after the release of Die Another Day, the media began questioning whether or not Brosnan would reprise the role for a fifth time. At that time, Brosnan was approaching his 50th birthday. Brosnan kept in mind that both fans and critics were very unhappy with Roger Moore playing the role until he (Moore) was 58, but he was receiving popular support from both critics and the franchise fanbase for a fifth instalment. For this reason, he remained enthusiastic about reprising his role.[37] In October 2004, Brosnan said he considered himself dismissed from the role.[38] Although Brosnan had been rumoured frequently as still in the running to play 007, he had denied it several times, and in February 2005 he posted on his website that he was finished with the role.[39]Daniel Craig took over the role on 14 October 2005.[40] In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Brosnan was asked what he thought of Daniel Craig as the new James Bond. He replied, "I'm looking forward to it like we're all looking forward to it. Daniel Craig is a great actor and he's going to do a fantastic job".[41] He reaffirmed this support in an interview to the International Herald Tribune, stating that "[Craig's] on his way to becoming a memorable Bond."[42]

In 2007, Brosnan appeared in the film Seraphim Falls alongside fellow Irishman Liam Neeson. The film was released for limited screenings on 26 January 2007 to average reviews. Kevin Crust of the Los Angeles Times noted that Brosnan and Neeson made "fine adversaries;"[52] Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter thought that they were "hard-pressed to inject some much-needed vitality into their sparse lines."[53] During the same year, Brosnan spoke of making a western with fellow Irishmen Gabriel Byrne and Colm Meaney.[54] In that same year Brosnan starred as Tom Ryan in Butterfly on a Wheel. The film was released in the United States under the name of Shattered, and in Europe as Desperate Hours.

In 2008, Brosnan joined Meryl Streep in the film adaption of the ABBA musical Mamma Mia!.[55] He played Sam Carmichael, one of three men rumoured to be the father of lead Amanda Seyfried, while Streep played her mother.[56]Judy Craymer, producer to the film, said "Pierce brings a certain smooch factor, and we think he'll have great chemistry with Meryl in a romantic comedy."[57] Brosnan's preparation in singing for the role included walking up and down the coast and singing karaoke to his own voice for about six weeks, followed by rehearsals in New York in which he noted he "sounded dreadful."[58] Brosnan's singing in the film was generally disparaged by critics, with his singing compared in separate reviews to the sound of a water buffalo,[59] a donkey,[60] and a wounded raccoon.[61] In September 2008, Brosnan provided the narration for the Thomas & Friends special The Great Discovery.

His latest announced project is a role in the Danny DeVito-helmed feature Charlotte Doyle, an adaptation of the novel The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, in which he will appear alongside Morgan Freeman.[64] His production company Irish DreamTime is developing The Topkapi Affair, a follow-up to The Thomas Crown Affair for MGM. In February 2013 Brosnan was awarded honorary patronage of the Dublin University Players society at Trinity College, Dublin.[65] Brosnan is also said to be playing a "heroic government agent" in an action thriller called The Coup alongside Owen Wilson.[66] Brosnan will also be headlining Last Man Out, which is an adaptation of Stuart Neville's crime novel titled The Twelve (released as Ghosts of Belfast in the US), scripted by Craig Ferguson and Ted Mulkerin, with Terry Loan will be helming the project.[67]

In 2013, Brosnan appeared in television commercials as a tongue in cheek version of himself to promote the launch of Sky Broadband in Ireland.[68] After the The November Man film project was cancelled in 2007, it was resurrected in 2012 with Brosnan announcing that he was jumping back to the spy arena. Filming was occurred in Serbia a year later, with Brosnan in action as a retired CIA operative called Devereaux, teaming up with Olga Kurylenko in character to prevent a world-wide conspiracy led by his former protege. The film received negative reception with a 34% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 38/100 on Metacritic.[citation needed] It is also reported that Brosnan will star in an upcoming revenge thriller called I.T. with shooting is scheduled to begin sometime in 2014.[69] He's also set to appear alongside Milla Jovovich and Emma Thompson in suspense thriller movie written by Phil Shelby, called Survivor, which began shooting on 20 January 2014, with Charles and Irwin Winkler will be producing it and James McTeigue will be directing it.[70]

Brosnan married twice, was widowed once and has four children and three grandchildren as of 2015.[71]

Brosnan met Australian actress Cassandra Harris through her stepson David Harris, one of Richard Harris' nephews, in 1977, shortly after he left drama school.[1] On meeting her, he has described his feelings, saying, "What a beautiful looking woman. I never for an instant thought she was someone I'd spend 17 years of my life with. I didn't think of wooing her, or attempting to woo her; I just wanted to enjoy her beauty and who she was."[5] They began dating, and eventually bought a house in Wimbledon. They married on 27 December 1980 and had one son together, Sean, who was born on 13 September 1983. They lived with her children, Charlotte (1971-2013) and Christopher, and after their father Dermot Harris died in 1986, he adopted them and they took the surname Brosnan.[1][72]

Brosnan supplemented his income by working in West End productions and in a television film about Irish horse racing.[5] After Harris appeared in the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only in 1981, they secured a bank loan and moved to southern California where Brosnan secured a role in the TV series Remington Steele, easing their financial worries.

An episode of Remington Steele that was filmed in Ireland generated significant publicity. One outcome was that Brosnan met his father, who had left when Brosnan was an infant, in a brief get-together at his hotel. Brosnan said he expected to see a very tall man, but described his father as "a man of medium stature, pushed-back silver hair, flinty eyes and a twizzled jaw. He had a very strong Kerry accent."[5] Brosnan was regretful that they met under such public circumstances. He said he would have preferred more private arrangements that would have given him the opportunity to speak privately with his father.[5]

While filming The Deceivers in Rajasthan, India, in 1987, Brosnan's wife Harris became seriously ill. She was later diagnosed with ovarian cancer and died on 28 December 1991 at age 43.[73] Brosnan struggled to cope with her cancer and death. "When your partner gets cancer, then life changes. Your timetable and reference for your normal routines and the way you view life, all this changes. Because you're dealing with death. You're dealing with the possibility of death and dying. And it was that way through the chemotherapy, through the first-look operation, the second look, the third look, the fourth look, the fifth look. Cassie was very positive about life. I mean, she had the most amazing energy and outlook on life. It was and is a terrible loss, and I see it reflected, from time to time, in my children."[5] Harris had always wanted Brosnan to play the role of James Bond, and in 1995, four years after her death, Brosnan was given the role in GoldenEye.

On 23 September 2004, Brosnan became a citizen of the United States, but retained his Irish citizenship. Brosnan said that "my Irishness is in everything I do. It's the spirit of who I am, as a man, an actor, a father. It's where I come from."[36] Brosnan was asked by a fan if it annoyed him when people get his nationality confused. He said: "It amuses me in some respects that they should confuse me with an Englishman when I'm dyed-in-the-wool, born and bred Irishman ... I don't necessarily fly under any flag. But no, it doesn't bother me."[77]

Brosnan has expressed contempt for his education by the Christian Brothers.[5] However in 2013 he commented, "It always helps to have a bit of prayer in your back pocket. At the end of the day, you have to have something and for me that is God, Jesus, my Catholic upbringing, my faith... God has been good to me. My faith has been good to me in the moments of deepest suffering, doubt and fear. It is a constant, the language of prayer... I might not have got my sums right from the Christian Brothers or might not have got the greatest learning of literature from them but I certainly got a strapping amount of faith." [78] Brosnan attends Mass, but adheres to other spiritual beliefs. In 2008 he said "I also love the teachings of Buddhist philosophy. It's my own private faith. I don't preach it, but it's a faith that is a comfort to me when the night is long."[8]

Brosnan also raises money for charitable causes through sales of his paintings. He trained early on as an artist, but later shifted to theatre; during his first wife's terminal illness, he withdrew from acting to be with her and took up painting again for therapeutic reasons, producing colourful landscapes and family portraits. He has continued painting since then, using spare time on set and at home. Profits from sales of giclée prints of his works are given to a trust to benefit "environmental, children's and women's health charities."[1] Since Harris' death, Brosnan has been an advocate for cancer awareness and, in 2006, he served as spokesperson for Lee National Denim Day, a breast cancer fundraiser which raises millions of dollars and raises more money in a single day than any other breast cancer fundraiser.[92]

In May 2007, Brosnan and Smith donated $100,000 to help replace a playground on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, where they own a house.[93] On 7 July 2007, Brosnan presented a film at Live Earth in London.[94] He also recorded a television advertisement for the cause.[1] Brosnan lives with his family in Malibu, California and on the island of Kauai.